Book Review: THE FANDOM By Anna Day

Violet and her friends’ adventure brings a whole new meaning to getting lost in The Fandom life.

Violet, Katie, Alice, and Nate simply cannot get enough of the book The Gallows Dance. The novel is dystopian and set in the 22nd century. The characters are split between the Genetically-Enhanced, AKA, “Gens” (those who were genetically enhanced to be as perfect as possible) and the Imperfects, AKA, “Imps” (those who are natural and flawed). Needless to say, there is a rift between these two types of “humans.” The Gens make a habit of hanging the Imps because their imperfection is a threat to society. The Imps, however, are not ready to give sole power to those who are like something made in a lab, and are rebelling.

The four friends are super excited about going to Comic-Con. They all don cosplay of some of their favorite characters. Really, they can’t wait to meet Russell Jones (a morally questionable human being), who plays Willow (a fan favorite) in the movie adaptation of The Gallows Dance. The group is taking photos with Russell when something feels off. There’s a loud creaking and a flickering green light. The friends are overwhelmed by the change in environment and when they come to, they are literally in the world of The Gallows Dance.

I expected The Fandom to be different than it turned out to be. Though I knew the basic premise, I had hoped there would be more time to explore the essence of being a fangirl/fanguy. It only took 25 pages to turn Violet and her friends from fans of characters in a book to characters in a book. Glimpses of obsessing, debating, cosplaying, and writing fanfic whizzed by– if they were even mentioned at all. I’m unsure why Day wrote in the “fandom” aspect (let alone named her book The Fandom) if she planned to throw the characters into a completely different universe and have them simply be teens trying to survive an impossible world.

Speaking of “teens,” the behavior and relationships between the four main characters was questionable. They were immature and often spread negativity to one another. Young adults do not need to be written in that way to specify that they’re young. I couldn’t relate or sympathize with any of those four, frankly.

However, if you’re a fan of fantasy YA novels, The Fandom may be worth your time. The world inside The Gallows Dance is detailed and intricate. I will say that Day did well building a world that completely immerses the reader.

RATING: 2.75 OUT OF 5 STARS

The Fandom hits shelves in the U.S. on April 24th, but you can order a copy now on Amazon or Indiebound!

Cosplay ready, Violet and her friends are at Comic-Con.

They can’t wait to meet the fandom of mega movie, The Gallows Dance. What they’re not expecting is to be catapulted by freak accident into their favourite world – for real. Fueled by love, guilt and fear, can the friends put the plot back on track and get out? The fate of the story is in their hands…